Kew Volleyball By-Laws
Matches will be conducted under the Official Volleyball Rules of the Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB), plus our ‘local’ rules as outlined below.
1 Basic Responsibilities
1.1 Players must know the Kew Volleyball By-Laws and abide by them, and understand the current International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) Official Volleyball Rules and the interaction between the two.
1.2 Players must accept the referee’s decision with sportsmanlike conduct, without disputing him/her. In case of doubt, clarification may be requested through the team captain. Please be aware of the FIVB sanction scale that can be engaged for any of this behaviour depending on its severity, it could result in a warning, point penalty, disqualification or even expulsion from the venue.
1.3 A team captain must be nominated. Prior to the match, the team captain must complete the names (first name & surname) of the players on the scoresheet and represent his/her team in the toss. At the end of the match the team captain needs to check the result recorded on the scoresheet, sign the scoresheet to acknowledge the recorded outcome is correct.
2 Scoring System
2.1 Premiership Points
2.1.1 Premiership points will be allocated on the basis of:
Win 4 points
Draw 2 points
Loss 0 points
Forfeit -4 points (0-3 sets, 0-75 points)
2.1.2 Positions of all teams on the premiership ladder will be determined by average
premiership points in the first instance, by sets percentage in the second instance and by point’s percentage in the third instance.
2.1.3 Sets percentage will be calculated on the basis of the progressive totals of sets
scored FOR divided by sets scored AGAINST. Points percentage will be calculated on the basis of the progressive totals of points scored FOR divided by points scored AGAINST and will include points scored in unfinished sets.
2.2 To Win A Match
2.2.1 A match is won by the team that gains three sets. However, if neither team has won
three sets at the end of playing time, the winner will be determined on the basis of sets won. For this purpose an unfinished set will only be counted as a completed set if one team has reached fifteen points and is two points ahead.
2.2.2 In the case of a 2-2 tie the deciding set (5th) is played as a tie-break with the rally-
point system (Rule 2.4).
2.3 To Win A Set
2.3.1 A set is won by the team that first scores 25 points with a minimum lead of two points. In the case of a 24-24 tie, play is continued until a two-point lead is reached (26-24, 27-25). There is no point limit.
2.4 To Win A Rally In The Deciding Set (5th)
2.4.1 In the deciding set, the team who is first to score 15 points with an advantage of 2 points wins the match. There is no point limit.
3 Forfeits
3.1 A team that, without justifiable reason, does not appear on the court with at least four players present at the appointed time within 5 minutes as shown on the draw forfeits the first set. If the team is still not ready with at least four players present to play 15 minutes after the appointed time, the second set is also forfeited. If the team is still not ready with at least four players to play 30 minutes after the appointed time, the match is forfeited with the result 0-3 for the match and 0-25 for each set. Some discretion maybe given by the hall manager if there is a known traffic accident in the area causing the delay, if so the start time should be altered to still give the full 60 minutes of game time.
3.2 If a team needs to forfeit a match for a valid reason and gives adequate notice either by telephone or email, and that notice is acknowledged (minimum 48 hours), then this match can be either scheduled to be played at a later date, with the cooperation of both teams, or the match is cancelled and no points are to be awarded to either team - no penalty.
3.3 If less than 48 hours’ notice is given, the match will be forfeited and the forfeiting team will be penalised with (-4) match points, and the opponent receives a win (3:0 sets & 75:0 points). In a second instance the forfeiting team will be penalised with (-4) match points and liable for their full match fee, and the opponent receives a win (3:0 sets & 75:0 points). In a third instance the forfeiting team will be penalised with (-4) match points and is liable for both teams full match fees, further participation in the competition by the team or their registered players may be reviewed, and the opponent receives a win (3:0 sets & 75:0 points). .
4 New Teams & Promotion / Relegation
4.1 A new team will be allowed to enter the competition at any stage of the season but must play a minimum of 50% of round games to be eligible for finals. Premier League teams must play a minimum of 75% of their round matches to be eligible for finals and/or PRIZE MONEY.
4.2 In the event of a team being promoted or relegated after the start of a season, it will
start in the new grade as though it was a new team. However, the results of all matches played in the previous grade will stand for the previous grade only, i.e., teams who play a team prior to its promotion or relegation do not have their premiership points or percentage adjusted after the transfer takes place, but the team being transferred starts from ‘scratch’ in its new grade.
5 Match Details
5.1 Matches are 65 minutes in length, 5 minutes warm up and 60 minutes playing time.
5.2 Matches finish at the sounding of a siren operated by the Hall Manager, and the ball and any point being played will be considered dead immediately the siren sounds.
5.3 No time-outs by a team will be permitted in the last five minutes of matches. However, a referee may initiate a time out for dealing with an on court injury.
5.4 The interval between sets is limited to a maximum of one minute in timed matches, and three minutes in non-timed finals matches. However, if both captains agree to an immediate resumption of play, this will be granted by the Referee in any set.
5.5 If the final set is to start inside the last five minutes of match time the referee will call both teams to immediately resume play. However, if both captains agree the final set is dead the referee will allow both teams to complete their match.
6 Team And Player Eligibility
6.1 Before taking part in any match, all teams must register each player’s first name and surname on the scoresheet and pay the appropriate match fee.
6.2 The minimum number of players allowed to take the court as a team during matches is 4
players for all divisions
6.3 All competitions are ‘open’ thus any gender breakdown is possible. Grading of a team is done on the team’s blended ability level rather than gender balance.
6.4 If a team
has 4 or 5 players, they will receive no penalty for the ‘gap’ or ‘gaps’ in
their
rotation. As long as the players’ rotation order is maintained they can have a maximum of 3
players’ front court, and the ‘gap’ or ‘gaps’ can be in the back court if they choose.
6.5 If a team starts a set with 4 or 5 players, they may fill the ‘gap’ or ‘gaps’ in their rotation. If
the original players’ relative rotation position to each other is maintained. The new player(s)
can fill the ‘gap’ or ‘gaps’ as they choose.
7 Finals
7.1 The semi-finals will be of a knock-out format, 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd with the winners going
in to the grand final.
7.2 All finals matches will be played with no time limit.
7.3 To be eligible to play in any final a player must play a minimum of seven matches during the season with the team concerned and their name must be recorded on the score sheet for those minimum seven games.
7.4 It is up to the opposition team to ‘question’ a player’s eligibility to play in finals before the finals match starts with the Hall Manager. If the match has been played and a player is found to be ineligible then nothing can be done.
8 Protests
8.1 Protests will be resolved immediately by the Hall Manager after consultation with the referee about the circumstances; his/her decision is final. No further correspondence will be entered into.
9 Heat Policy
9.1 If the centre’s temperature gauge exceeds 32 degrees, a one minute timeout will be
allowed when one team reaches 13 points in a set for safety reasons, if both captains
decline the timeout play will continue. This rule does not apply if there is less than 5 minutes
on the time clock. Teams are still permitted 2 x 30 second optional timeouts in addition.
10 Conduct At Hall
10.1 No smoking is permitted in the Hall.
10.2 No food or drink is permitted in the Hall.
10.3 No dogs permitted in the Hall unless sight impaired dogs.
10.4 Hall Managers have the power to expel from the Hall any person who, after due warning,
continues to behave in a manner which is detrimental to the image of the Centre or
volleyball in general.
10.5 No balls are to be used for practice near courts upon which a match is in progress.
10.6 If adjacent courts are in use no player may chase a ball into or play a ball from their game from inside an adjacent court. If a player does chase a ball into or play a ball from their game from inside an adjacent court it will be judged as a fault on that player(s) and the opposing team will be awarded the point. A player may chase a ball into or play a ball from their game from the shared free zone between the two courts, but if they enter the adjacent court after playing the ball the player will be judged as a fault and the opposing team will be awarded the point. This rule is to provide protection to players from collisions with players in adjacent courts.
Key Rule Interpretations
Kew Volleyball is a social volleyball competition.
Referees are instructed to let rally continue unless they are definite a ‘fault’ has occurred.
Two key rules to understand are;
· Caught or thrown fault - there is no such thing as a ‘carry’ in the current volleyball rules, it is a caught or thrown ball. The referees are instructed to only call this fault if they see the ball become stationary (stop or is thrown instead of rebounded) while the player is playing the ball.
· Double hit fault - will only be called if the referee sees the ball hit twice when the player plays the ball. Spin, sound, intention of target, are NOT factors a double hit fault can be judged by.